How special can encounters be. In 2012 I organized, together with three other women, a three-day Gathering with two of the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. In preparation for this Gathering I had a conversation with writer Linda Wormhoudt. In this interview she asked me, do you know who the Goddess of the North Sea is? “No," I said a little guilty. "Nehalennia" she said.

I was ashamed that I did not know. I immediately bought a book about "Nehalennia". And with astonishment I read that the first sacrificial stones for her were found on the beach at Domburg and, later at Colijnsplaat, a town in the Oosterschelde in Zeeland. She is a forgotten goddess who protected the sailors at sea, but also she regarded the sea as a friend. During the Gathering with the Grandmothers, we had an extensive ceremony for our, by many forgotten, Goddess Nehalennia which was welcomed with a wonderful rainbow.

After the Gatherings Nehalennia would not let me go. She hangs as a beautiful picture above my couch in my living room. I determined to go again to Zeeland and to visit all the places where Nehalennia has been found and where she is honoured. 

What 'happened' when I was drinking a coffee at the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam and fell into conversation with a couple who appeared to live near Domburg in Zeeland. The woman is an artist and a natural healer; she and her husband, of course, knew about Nehalennia. I told them about my plans to visit the museum and to see some of her sacrificial stones. A few days later, I ran into this couple again. We all thought the same. This does not just happen. The woman invited me to visit  Domburg and to stay with her. 

At the same time I read the book "Lost Civilization" and the controversial "Oera Linda Book". In this book written in old Fries, I read about Nehalennia. You must know that the Friezen are the Indigenous people of the Netherlands and so to say from whole North West Europe. The information was quite diverse. In the Oera Linda book was written that Nehalennia was a Priestess called Minerva. Later on she was called the Goddess and a Mother who protected the Friezen.

The Zeelanders say very clearly that she is the Patroness of the Navigators in that area. Nehalennia is the Mother Goddess who influences the upper world, the earth and the underworld. She connects the visible with the invisible world. She gives life, takes life and and gives it back transformed. Nehalennia is all about life, death and re-birth. She is usually pictured majestic sitting on a thrown accompanied by a dog and a basket of apples. The dog symbolizes loyalty and the apples stand for fertility and resurrection. In the Oera Linda book Nehalennia is called Minerva the Virgin and is of Frisian origin, so they say. Minerva is the oldest student society of The Netherlands based in Leiden. Would this be the reason why the National Museum of Antiquities have funded the excavation of the remains as sacrificial stones of Nehalennia in Colijsnplaat near Domburg, which you can now visit in this Museum. 

I went to Zeeland for three days and I was invited to stay with this nice couple. The woman showed me all the places where Nehalennia is remembered and brought me into contact with extraordinary people like the 85-year-old Zeelander Artist, who told me all about the developments of Zeeland. For example all the land is gradually disappearing and there is a Roman city buried under the sea near the the coast of Zeeland. I listened for three hours breathlessly to this man. It is high time we brought all this old knowledge to life again. During my visit, in which I saw an incredible amount, I realized how beautiful The Netherlands really is. Wonderfully maintained villages and nature. The weather was grey and cold, with some rain at times, but this combination produces beautiful skies and at the end of each day the sun came out to welcome us, which resulted in a beautiful sunset.